The MacCormick & Clayton Family

The Telegraph (Brisbane 22 Jan 1910)
 
LATE SERGEANT-MAJOR CLAYTON.

 The late Sergeant-major William Nassau Clayton, whose death occurred at , his
residence,  Toowong, on 12th instant, had an interesting meritorious record of
services.
 On entering the army on 12th February, 1846, Sergeant-major Clayton
joined the 59th Regiment, and attained the rank of sergeant-major 16 years
later.  He received the silver medal with a gratuity of 15 pounds  on 24 May 1864
at the hands of Lieutenant-general Sir John Penefather, commanding Aldershot division.
He served with his regiment in China for 9 years, and in South Africa
for 2 1/2 years. Discharged on 26th August, 1867, he next day joined the
5th Battalion Leinster Regiment,- and was discharged in October of the following year.
He then joined the 105th L.R.V. Glasgow Highlanders, on 1st November, 1868, and was
discharged there from on 27th November, 1888. He received the medal for meritorious
distinguished service on 5th October, 1887,with an annuity of £10.
His total service amounted to 42 years 301 days.
On retiring from the army, he received permission to retain his rank/and to wear
the uniform of his corps.
Sergeant-major Clayton was a familiar figure at Toowong, where he spent his later years
in quiet retirement. He was one of the founders of the Indooroopilly cadets, from which corps,
in common with other regiments with which he was connected, he received a testimonial
and souvenir.

He was a Freemason, and at one time held the position of past master in the. Star Lodge, Glasgow /Scotland).

He leaves a widow, one son (in the Indian army),  and five daughters, three of whom are married.

William married Minnie Craddock in Galway, Ireland in about 1860. She is identified as being born in Ireland however Craddock is a Welsh name. As an army wife she followed William around the empire with the children being born in various countries. Mary Anne and Georgina (Dolly) were born in Ireland, Fanny in South Africa.

DEATH OF MRS. CLAYTON. Brisbane paper 3 May 1916

Tho late Mrs. William Nassau Clayton, who died at her late residence, Aberfeldy,
Shcrwood  road, Toowong, on Good Friday, had reached tho advanced  of 81 years.
She was a very old and respected resident of Brisbane, and was
loved for her generous and kindly disposition. Many beautiful wreaths and
letters of condolence were sent by the deceased lady's friends. Deep sympathy
has been expressed with her daughters in their loss. Miss F. Clayton was in
Sydney on a holiday visit, when she was recalled by the sudden bereavement.

It seems William came to Queensland in the late 1800s. The Clayton family settled in Toowong, now a suburb of Brisbane. Their house Aberfeldie  stood on the corner of Sherwood Road and Clayton Lane

Emily, the eldest daughter is said to have stayed in the UK (?) while Mary Anne Clayton married in Scotland some eight years after William first(?) arrived in Queensland.

Biographical records from Queensland mention that Fanny Clayton took and active interest in politics and women's organizations and was the owner and lady editor of  Figaro. She was an executive member of the Victoria League, member of the Red Cross Society and the Comforts Fund.

The accidental death of son William Francis Nassau Clayton, a school teacher is mentioned in the Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, Saturday 4 Jan 1890. He met his death on 2nd Jan 1890 in a boating accident off Port Keppel Island when his 16 foot boat foundered in a violent storm. He and his companion, the Headmaster of his school were swimming for shore when he was apparently taken by a shark.

There are inconsistencies in dates, ages and places of birth. Maybe the Clayton family moved back and forth between Australia and Great Britain several times because of William's army postings.

Minnie Craddock MacCormick, was born in Glasgow and came to Australia with her family at the age of about seven. She trained as a nurse and midwife. She worked in a Brisbane hospital and the Scottish hospital in Sydney. She was involved in the delivery of more than one hundred babies. The world-wide influenza (Spanish flu ?) epidemic of 1918-19 killed more than 10,000 Australians. In Sydney alone almost 400,000 were infected. Minne was to nurse hundreds at this time.

She married Charles Miller Scholley a returned servicemen and Victorian. They settled in Neutral Bay and raised their children. In later years she lived in Rose Bay and then in St Ives with the family of her daughter Mary. She is remembered by the family as a kind caring loving person.

Mark Frayne passed on this clip , via Trove, from
the Sydney Sun newspaper dated 7 May 1922